Travel in France - summer in Haute-Savoie
It can be reassuring to go back to a known and loved holiday destination in France: you know what to expect and it all but guarantees a great trip. But to go back to a winter ski resort during the summertime is quite, quite different and you will be hard pushed to even recognise the place.
Having skied in the Massif des Aravis in January, a return trip was planned for July, the beginning of the summer season. The difference was phenomenal.
What was fold upon fold of pristine snow had become a carpet of luscious verdant greens, dotted with shiny chestnut-coloured grazing cattle. Rivers of crystal-clear mountain water gushed through the four towns that make up the resort of Aravis: La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand, St-Jean-de-Sixt and Manigod and the distant tinny rings of cow bells provided perfectly pastoral background music. It’s as different as night and day and the only constant might be a glimpse of your ski instructor doing his summer job as mountain-bike guide.
Whereas we based ourselves in La Clusaz for the skiing trip, we chose the smaller village of Manigod for our summer séjour. The resort is an hour from Geneva and with so much at your feet, it is best to hire a car to explore the area at will. Manigod centre is tiny and charming and has all that you need, not least La Fournée Authentique bakery. The delicious bread is worth the morning stroll, or even drive, and if you stay in La Croix Fry hotel further up the mountain, you will have it brought to your breakfast table. You can also pick up some of the instantly recognisable Savoyard pottery in the village. You will no doubt come across the rustic-looking dishes, bowls and jugs that are so perfect for serving mountain fare and they make for a good memento of your trip.
Nature lovers
Just as in winter, the mountains are a hive of activity in summer. The slopes, cable cars and chairlifts are put to good use and the green, blue, red and black runs become a paradise for walkers, mountain bikers and nature lovers. What might be seen as more daring activities can be aimed at any level if you choose the right route and so before we knew it, we found ourselves donning helmets, elbow and knee pads in La Clusaz and getting on a chairlift with a mountain bike each.
If you are quietly confident, pick up an Itinéraires VTT map from the tourist office and you will have 25 marked routes at your disposal. Some are ‘cross country’ and so involve climbing, flats and descents whereas others are descents only; all are colour coded for difficulty and there are cross-section charts to show each route’s topography.
For a little more security, go with a qualified guide; we joined a group and happened to end up with downhill mountain biking champion, Antonin Lieutaghi. Our steady green/blue route was not the greatest challenge for our intrepid guide (Antonin cites an exhilarating descent in Chile’s Atacama desert as one of his finest moments) but he nevertheless patiently taught us techniques for a smoother ride as we tackled gravel, mud and grass with gusto.
If you pick your route wisely, a morning’s mountain-biking is an energising and inspiring way to see the mountains. The chairlifts take you soundlessly upwards over grazing sheep, goats and cattle to sunny plateaux where you can hop off, jump on your bike and just go at your own pace. The ascents mean you earn the long descents and the whole means you have more than earned a good lunch.
Our route from La Clusaz to Le Grand Bornand, via the Lac des Confins, meant we had the good fortune of stopping for a convivial lunch at Les Frasses Jacquier. M. Favre served a hearty lunch of local speciality Diot sausages that had been slow-cooking since 10am that morning with deliciously creamy polenta and a palette-cleansing green salad; sitting outside with a spectacular après-bike view over the mountains topped off the feeling of smug wellbeing.
Unadulterated fear
Another must for the daring is a spot of Alpine paragliding. Tandem flights can be booked through the tourist office and, weather permitting, you can spend a morning, or even a day, airborne. The long cable car ride followed by a stint on the chairlift meant there was enough time for trepidation to turn into unadulterated fear and, before I was ready, the instructor had laid out the wing on a 45 degree angle mountain face.
Vincent, my obliging pilot, harnessed himself into a rucksack-cum-chair and I quietly stepped into mine. With him behind me, all it took were three small steps forward and we were flying. The surprisingly quick takeoff meant there was fortunately no time to back out and, once airborne, it’s exhilarating. While it is not completely silent, you can easily chat and Vincent pointed out Mont Blanc among the layers and layers of mountains and Le Grand Bornand town lying below.
A simple flight can be gentle and peaceful but for the more adventurous, there is always the option of taking it up a notch with a spot of aerobatics. Fast downward turns can have you flung out with the centrifugal force and it is probably not the best option for those who suffer with motion sickness. As I found out. The landing is as easy as the takeoff though and as we lightly touched down, it sufficed that we both trotted a couple of steps before the wing fluttered to the ground behind us. It’s a fantastic way to see the mountains and, surprisingly, not vertigo-inducing at all.
For other aerial sports, Le Grand Bornand has an adventure park in the forest where zip wires and rope bridges link a woodland world. Each section is colour coded for difficulty following the ski run colours and you could even find yourself cycling on a high wire in the tree tops. Another option for some fast family fun is summer sledding at La Clusaz – essentially sitting on a tea tray and flying down a shiny, windy track. Grandparents and grandchildren alike will enjoy whizzing down and once is certainly not enough.
Astronomy stroll
It’s not all extreme sports in the mountains though. For those who enjoy a slightly slower pace of life, be sure to book a guided mountain walk. The Compagnie des Guides des Aravis have four offices where you can book a guide for as long or as short a duration as you wish. Themed walks are available and we chose to do a medicinal plant walk by day as well as a night-time astronomy stroll, both of which coincided with stops on the cheese route, the itinéraires des fromages.
Our utterly charming guide, François, led us along winding mountain paths and through high-lying meadows, skilfully selecting single blooms from the flecks of colour that speckle the grass and explaining their medicinal properties. We came across remedies for coughs, relaxants, arnica as well as la reine des près, the active ingredient in aspirin.
The walk led us to M. Bibollet’s summer Reblochon farm, Ferme et Alpage le Tavaillon. Reblochon is the local cheese and the infinitely smiley M. Bibollet still makes it according to traditional methods today. Madame Bibollet senior is on hand and works tirelessly and equally contentedly alongside her son and the best bit is that after a tour of the farm, you get to enjoy a dégustation. We tasted a creamy, soft Reblochon, a harder and sharper Tomme as well as another hard, tangy cheese, Abondance, and a freshly churned butter. All were delicious, especially washed down with a shot of milk straight from the cow.
Before commencing our late-night astronomy walk, we fortified ourselves at Alpage Les Corbassières with another cheese feast. Marie-Louise Donzel, another smiling figure – there must be something in the mountain air, or perhaps the cheese – brought forth dish upon dish of home-produced cheese in all its guises for us to savour. We started with a young Reblochon – made fresh that morning – as an amuse-bouche then we tucked into grilled cheese on toast before heating our own rounds of Reblochon on specially made grills known as reblochonades and skimming off the molten top layer and smothering it over hot new potatoes. With apple tart to finish, you might surprise yourself and have to forego the cheese course.
Infinite stars
Stepping outside into the crisp mountain air under an inky sky flecked with infinite stars was a necessary wake up. The multi-talented François pointed out the constellations as we slowly made our way back to the village and, once our eyes had adjusted, we got to see yet another facet of the ever-changing mountains.
There is a rural simplicity to the mountains in summer, with farmers tending to their herds and everyone going about their daily lives – a far cry from the pace and sophistication of a winter ski resort. Overwhelmingly though, it is the sheer scale of everything that leaves a lasting impression: the water is clearer, colours are brighter, the air is pure and fresh. Activities aside, the breathtaking natural landscape is the main attraction and happily, the mountains are with you wherever you go.
And as for which is better, summer or winter? Absolutely impossible to say; it’s as if they are two completely different places.
Fact file
www.aravis.com
La Compagnie des Guides des Aravis
Book mountain guides for themed excursions
www.compagnie-guides-aravis.com
La Croix Fry
Lovely Manigod-based hotel with chalets that serves delicious local food
www.hotelchaletcroixfry.com